Colour question (specifically Dark Blue)

[CTDavies]

Good evening all,

early on in my 2+2 restoration I made a decision on the colour it will eventually have. Well, time for some paint is coming up rapidly so I started finding the correct supplier.

This image here has inspired me for the last one and a half years, it must certainly be one of the most beautiful 2+2s around.



I always thought this was the late sixties' Jaguar Dark Blue and went to the best local paint supplier (who has several very rare 50' and 60' paint swatch books) and had a small tin can of Dark Blue (4647) and Azure mixed to do some tests. I was really surprised to see that their Dark Blue is nearly black. My coach builder spray painted two samples on sheet metal to see what they look like.

Azure Blue on the left, Dark Blue on the right.



Here on the car.



I am worried that my Dark Blue may be too dark. Do you think the car on top was painted in original Jaguar Dark Blue? I would like to use an original late 60s Jaguar colour but this Dark Blue is too dark for me.

Any help and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Chris

[Durango2k]

Hah,

mine is dark blue / indigo as well. Pete will jump in I am sure.

And, it is NOT a Jaguar E-Type original mix. I had a computer do determine it, and it came up with some darkened XJ6 or Mitsubishi paint code.

Maybe Pete has some good tub pics to post or an XKEData link to it ?

Or come along and see it....

Short story- when I bought the tub, and said to Pete I am thinking about CARMEN RED; he said better not, because it has a Britax roof. This looks like a hat on a bright car, so "hide" it with dark blue.

And if you re- new the chrome (i got my front bumpers + A-posts today back, gorgeous !), then dark blue is fine as well.

And, the above car is NOT the ... nicest 2+2 on the world simply because it?s an S2 and not S1 :-)

Carsten

[Heuer]

Have you considered Opalescent Dark Blue?

[christopher storey]

The car shown at the top looks like Indigo to me . It is much more a Royal Blue than the Dark Blue which as you say has a lot of black in it. Opalescent dark Blue is something of an acquired taste for many people - it is blue with a rather dusty grey tinge to it and does not produce the deep gloss effect which the car in the photo has

Incidentally, I would not advise mixing colours to a non-standard formula if you can avoid it. It makes it very difficult if not impossible to match at a later date

[CTDavies]

Interesting answers from all of you, Thanks!

Christopher: Great tip with the Indigo, I'll check that out with my supplier tomorrow. I really believe in picking an original Jaguar colour or even a colour that was used on E-Types at the time (1969). According to the knowledge base here Indigo was only used on Series 1 cars, but what the heck! It's my car, as long as it's a Jaguar colour mixed to match, that should be good enough. I will certainly keep the formula for later availability.

Heuer: I'm sort of sold to the car on that first image here, so never considered an opalescent colour.

Durango: Interesting point Chris makes on your roof. Without wanting to start a debate here on the aesthetics of the 2+2, I think a dark colour will suit one much better, because, when viewed from a distance, the windows of a car also appear dark, and the larger roof and windows will sort of be 'absorbed' by the darker colour, and it doesn't stick out like it was added on later (which it was - haha), and blends into the car better. This can clearly be seen on the first picture here.
Where do you live?
Let me say this; the car in that picture is the best looking Series 2 2+2 - ever!

[Heuer]

All the paint data is here: http://etypeuk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=951 Indigo Blue was only offered on the 3.8's. According to Clausager 802 S2's were painted Dark Blue, 323 with a Light Blue interior and 241 with a Dark Blue interior. As others have suggested stick to a standard Jaguar colour and bear in mind what looks dark in your garage in winter will present very differently on a sunny summer's day.

[PeterCrespin]

Durango: Interesting point Chris makes on your roof. Without wanting to start a debate here on the aesthetics of the 2+2, I think a dark colour will suit one much better, because, when viewed from a distance, the windows of a car also appear dark, and the larger roof and windows will sort of be 'absorbed' by the darker colour, and it doesn't stick out like it was added on later (which it was - haha), and blends into the car better. This can clearly be seen on the first picture here.
Where do you live?
Let me say this; the car in that picture is the best looking Series 2 2+2 - ever!

Carsten was quoting me, not Chris, and there are dark blue paint pictures of what is now Carsten's tub on www.xkedata.com under car 1E75339, which as you'll see is now my D-type.

That photo looks nice because it's sunny, has centre-laced wheels, is an S2 with the sleeker screen, but mostly because it's an E-type. It may be the reflected terrain but I'm pretty certain it is either slightly nose-high or dragging its tail slightly - a recipe for light steering at high speeds and/or dented exhausts over bad roads when two-up. The colour does seem more Opalescent Dark Blue than Indigo or solid dark blue. Check xkedata for as many pics as you can stomach in practically any colour and be sure to list your own car.

Pete

[Heuer]

This is Opalescent Dark Blue:

[Durango2k]

Hi CTDavies,

I am in G?ttingen. That?s 120 km south of Hannover, 50 north of Kassel, say 180 east from Dortmund.

Look JUST in the centre of germany- that?s where I am. Really. The geographical centre is very near.

Carsten

[PeterCrespin]

This is Opalescent Dark Blue:

Looking a touch low in front David, or is that to prevent lift on the Autoroute du Soleil at triple digits? :-)

[osgii]

The blue is quite a tricky color for cars, because it will change a lot depending on the global illumination. A dark blue will looks completely black with low luminosity, and will become brighter and much more saturated with a good level of light.

Then, it's a matter of taste. I personally prefer dark color without too much saturation. And I hate blues with red in it (which tend to become indigo).

[CTDavies]

Osgii, as I learnt today blues without red are always turqoise (I never heard that before).

Anyway, to avoid spending weeks and weeks of running around trying to find out what would be the right colour, I've decided to go for a colour that was used on E-Types in '69, which narrows down the choice considerably, as Jaguar have done hundreds and hundreds of colours over the years. I could spend months going through all blues and having test cans made, so to keep things easy and enjoy the benefit of originality I'm going for Dark Blue. This is one I found on the intenet and it also looks very nice.



Those centre laced wheels on the car on that first image here are hot as hell. Who does them?

[aussieseries2dhc]

+1 on the dark blue for series 2 ots. :)

That is the colour of mine.

Does look black at night and in low light.

cheers,
john

[CTDavies]

Referring back to the first image in post 1 here, Pete Crespin mentioned those nice centre laced wheels. Do you think they are MWS KW5721 6.5" Dunlops, or could they even be Daytons? I have 6" wheels myself but they are not centre laced. Those on the image are really hot :D and I'm hoping to find out who makes them. Chris

[neil4444]

Hi Chris,

There's some info here re the centrelaced (& other options) wheels.

http://etypeuk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3870

Regards,

Neil

[CTDavies]

Check xkedata for as many pics as you can stomach in practically any colour and be sure to list your own car.

Pete

Pete, good advice. I Have finally listed my car at the xkdata. It's 1R41839. Photos etc will be added in the next couple of days. Interesting to see that there are a few close cousins there. Their images show some interesting details like plated wishbones etc.
Chris

[PeterCrespin]

Cad plated wishbones were fitted to every E-type bar the very first ones that followed D-type and earlier practice of black paint.

Pete

[CTDavies]

You're right, Pete. I was confused by some images in Porter's Definitive History. Pages 200 & 201 show assembly lines with cars (roadsters) that have black wishbones. On pages 202 & 203 they have plated ones (coupes and roadsters). The images on 200 & 201 must be of very early production cars then.

[Heuer]

I thought the suspension parts were black cadmium plated on the D-Type and early E-Type's rather than painted? The changeover to grey cadmium was transitional and some cars had a mixture of the two.

[pmansson]

I enjoy this discussion. Christopher?s remark about a "dusty grey tinge" on the opalescent dark blue is dead on. My opal dk green FHC S1 has exactly this. With tinted windows and a Suede green interior it works, but a solid paint is nicer in my view.
Peter?s comment on David?s impeccable car riding a bit low "to avoid front end lift on the 3 digit speeds in the S of France" made me laugh as well.

Coming back to the subject, the choice of colour is very personal. I happen to prefer the Dark blue (i.e. almost black) to the Indigo blue which is lighter. Jaguar were going back and forth here, during the late 60s and throughout the 60s, although they were always happy to entertain custom orders. Most repainted BRG cars are much lighter than Jaguar?s early blend which, like the dark blue, was almost black in poor lighting. One of the reasons I picked the 150FHC that I have is that it does in fact have this very dark blend of BRG.

Did we get an explanation for David?s low front end......?
Best regards,
Peder